Stoic Lauds: Saturday, March 14, 2026

The Enchiridion of Epictetus

Never say of anything, “I have lost it,” but, “I have restored it.” Has your child died? It is restored. Has your wife died? She is restored. Has your estate been taken away? That likewise is restored. “But it was a bad man who took it.” What is it to you by whose hands he who gave it has demanded it again? While he permits you to possess it, hold it as something not your own, as do travelers at an inn.

The Enchiridion of Epictetus - translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Examination of Conscience

If this is your last Hour you plan to follow today, the now is a good time for the Examination of Conscience.

Also do this if it is the first Hour you are following today you forgot to do yesterday's Examination of Conscience - now is a good time to do that, as it is better late than never.

Examination of Conscience can be done in the form of a journal - but that is not the only way to do it. You can do it mentally -- as long as you can make sure, without any external actions, that you are in fact doing it. Also - for practice sake, it can be done in dialogue with a mentor. But doing it with a mentor is only recommended for practice sake - and may not even be available to everyone at all.

Above all -- remember that the Examination of Conscience done here is the Stoic version of the concept and none other.

The Old Stoic

Riches I hold in light esteem,

And Love I laugh to scorn;

And lust of fame was but a dream,

That vanished with the morn:

And if I pray, the only prayer

That moves my lips for me

Is, “Leave the heart that now I bear,

And give me liberty!”

Yes, as my swift days near their goal:

’Tis all that I implore;

In life and death a chainless soul,

With courage to endure.

Poem by Emily Brontë, - obtained from poets.org

Stoic Lauds for Saturday, March 14, 2026